Labrang Monastery
拉卜楞寺
One of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school, encircled by the world's longest prayer-wheel corridor. Monks' debates and devotees circling the monastery make up some of the most striking daily religious life in Gannan.
Labrang Monastery lies on the north bank of the Daxia River, west of Xiahe county town. It was founded in 1709 by the First Jamyang Living Buddha and is one of the six great monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Known as the 'world's Tibetan studies academy', it once had more than 4,000 monks and today has over a thousand. The monastery covers about 860,000 square metres and consists of six colleges (Wensi, Upper Xubu, Lower Xubu, Medicine, Kalachakra and Hevajra) along with dozens of prayer halls and the residences of living Buddhas, forming almost an independent monastic city. Surrounding it is a prayer-wheel corridor about 3.5 km long with more than 2,000 prayer wheels, said to be the longest circumambulation path in the world. Highlights include the Great Assembly Hall (Wensi College, able to seat 3,000 monks for chanting), Gongtang Pagoda (climb it for a view over the whole monastery), the gilded roof of the Maitreya Hall, the Scripture Library and the Butter Sculpture Exhibition Hall, and the monks' debates held in the debate courtyard every afternoon. The best way to experience the atmosphere is to walk the prayer-wheel corridor clockwise with the devotees at dawn or dusk. Entry costs about 40 yuan. This includes a guided tour, led by monks in groups every hour, and you can only enter the halls by following the tour. The prayer corridor and outer areas are free. A visit takes about 3 hours. The Sunning Buddha Terrace on the hillside opposite offers a panoramic view of the monastery, about 20 minutes on foot. Xiahe county town is within walking distance, and there are direct buses from Lanzhou South Bus Station that take about 4 hours. Note: photography is forbidden inside the halls. Walk the corridor clockwise, do not point at the Buddha statues with your fingers, and during the First-Month Great Prayer Festival, accommodation in the county town is scarce, so book at least a month ahead. The altitude is about 2,900 metres.
Opening hours
08:00–18:00 (monk-led tours depart 09:00–11:00 and 14:00–16:00)
Nearby sights
- Gongtang Stupa
- Labrang Prayer Wheel Circuit
- Sangke Grassland
- Dazong Lake
- Zuohai Monastery
- Ganjia Grassland
- Bajiao Ancient City, Ganjia
- Baishiya Karst Cave